Love is a Losing Game
by Ariadne of Troy
Summary: The gang is looking forward to growing up and getting through their junior year, but the arrival of Veronica's best friend from New York is throwing a wrench into a lot of gears.


**A/N:** Hi, guys! I'm new to this fandom, but here's a plotbunny that would not leave me alone today. This is a multi-chapter fic set during the gang's junior year of high school with a little angst, chaos and teenage drama thrown in for good measure.

 **Warnings:** Language, sex, drug use, cheating, and all that fun stuff in later chapters. Pairings remain Betty/Jughead, Veronica/Archie, Reggie/OC, but may change later on.

Title is from an amazing Amy Winehouse song, which I do not own. I own none of this, but please enjoy, and leave your thoughts in the reviews!

 **~0~**

 **Chapter 1: The Threat**

The faded wooden welcome sign comes at her like the bright, gaudy orange and blue monstrosity that it is. _Welcome to Riverdale, the town with pep!_ As if _that's_ supposed to mean anything, she thinks. She snorts and flicks ash off her cigarette and out the open window, taking another drag as she drives through what she is safely assuming is their downtown area – which is every bit the quaint, small-town America she imagined from the stories. As she pulls up in front of the serviced apartment building, crunching her cigarette butt with the steel toe of her boot, she wonders, not for the first time, if this trip was a mistake.

She raps smartly on the tall wooden doors of The Pembrooke, fixing her most saccharine sweet smile on her face as it swings open.

"Hi, I'm looking for Veronica Lodge?" White, charmingly crooked teeth flash in the lamplight. "Tell her it's her best friend, coming to visit."

 **~0~**

It's a normal Friday, all things considered, for one Elizabeth Cooper. That morning she took the time to fish her favorite salmon pink cashmere sweater out of the back of her closet, having only deigned to wear it on special occasions, and fixed her hair into a French braid. Today, or rather, _tonight_ was indeed a special occasion.

Tonight marked a full year since she started dating one Forsythe Jones III, aka Jughead, aka Riverdale High Misfit Extraordinaire. It was fortuitous that her mother was out of town for a journalism conference, and she had the house to herself. Betty had yet to tell Jughead that she fully expected him to spend the night – their _first_ night together, ever – and she was giddy over the thought.

In a life where she had ceded so much control over to other people, her relationship with Jughead was the one thing she _did_ have control over. _This_ was the one thing she truly had to give him, more than homicidal drama or a complicated family life or her multitude of internal issues. Jughead had saved her from the dark places that had haunted her all her life, hands down and no questions asked. This was the one way she could show him just how much that meant to her.

There was one thing she had to do before meeting up with him for their usual Friday night dinner at Pop's, however, and that was to track down her best friend V to talk to her about it. It seemed right to have at least one person know the magnitude of what was to happen that night, and Betty could think of no better person to bear the secret than Veronica.

Unfortunately, the brunette bombshell was nowhere to be found, and Betty was finding it difficult to remember whether she had seen her fellow Vixen at all that day at school. Shrugging it off, she sent her boyfriend a text reminding him about their plans at Pop's (not that she needed to) and another to Veronica.

 **(4:07PM): Hey! Where are you, V?**

 **ronnielodge (4:10PM): explain l8r. c u at pops 2nite.**

 **(4:10PM): Ok? Is everything ok?**

 **ronnielodge (4:12PM): yup. tnx babes xx**

Well, that was strange, but not too strange to merit much more thought. Betty had gotten used to the other girl's extreme, though quite common, moodswings. Slinging her heavy school bag over her shoulder, she made her way home to get a head start on homework. She grinned at the thought. There was no way she'd have time to think about anything but her boyfriend for the rest of the weekend. Not if she had anything to say about it, at least.

 **~0~**

Jughead frowned as he entered Pop's hand in hand with Betty (who, for the record, look absolutely delicious in that sweater, all soft curves and bright eyes). He had anticipated people already being at their regular booth for their weekly dinner, but he hadn't counted on one of them being someone completely unfamiliar.

Said unfamiliar person was sitting in Jughead's usual spot with her booted foot tucked under her other knee, a fork twirling in her plate of tuna pesto. His grey eyes widened. In all his years of going to Pop's, he had never seen _anyone_ order the tuna pesto. Something weird was going on, alright, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

He gently tugged on Betty's hand, drawing her attention from the rest of the diner which she was surreptitiously checking for anyone else they knew, and pulled her towards their booth. "Hey, Ronnie," he greeted in a nasally tone that he knew irked her. Instead of looking exasperated, as she usually did, she simply smiled up at him as they joined her.

"There you are! I was starting to wonder if we were going to get stood up!"

"Hi, V!" Betty greeted warmly, giving the other girl a kiss on the cheek as she slid into the booth next to her.

Jughead remained standing, crossing his arms as he stared down at the stranger. He decided he could be friendly later, _after_ he got his usual seat back. "So who's your little friend?" he asked Veronica, never taking his eyes off the intruder.

"Hm? Oh my gosh, where are my manners! Riverdale besties, meet my New York bestie, Kalliope Thomas." Veronica introduced in her usual dramatic manner, all smiles and hand flourishes. It was clear to Jughead that she did not think this was in any way a breach of, well, friendship!

To anyone else it may not have been a big deal, but it had taken Jughead almost a year to even think of Veronica and Kevin as more than just inconvenient hangers-on to his "real" friends, Archie and Betty. To spring a new person on them, on _him_ , was one thing, but to invite them to weekly dinner was another. It was the equivalent of meeting the parents and in a way, it sort of was like Veronica was introducing someone to their little family without giving them any warning whatsoever.

The other girl gave them a small smile through her blood red lipstick, waving her fork at them. "Hey. Call me Katy," she said, which for some reason made Veronica giggle. Her bright green eyes were lined with kohl, and while she wasn't as made-up as Veronica usually was, Jughead was already drawing parallels between Ronnie's designer heels to Katy's equally expensive-looking combat boots, Ronnie's couture dress to Katy's tastefully ripped jeans and streetwear shirt. The other girl simply looked like the Asian, rough-and-tumble version of her friend, but no less city slick and privileged.

Betty was starting to look a little flustered, blue eyes darting from the glare on her boyfriend's face to the carefully guarded expression on the new girl. As much as she wanted to reassure Jughead, it was the first time they had ever had a glimpse of Veronica's life in New York, and she felt compelled to give Katy a shot.

"Hi," she greeted, extending a hand across the table for her to shake. The other girl blinked at her for a second before taking it and giving it one solid pump and returning to pick up her fork. "I'm Betty Cooper, and this is my boyfriend Jughead Jones." She flashed him a warm smile and took his hand, tugging him into the booth next to her.

He relented, but not without nudging her lightly in the side with his elbow. Betty let out a small sigh under her breath and pinched the web of skin between his thumb and index finger with her nails, code for _you can get your seat back later._

"You guys should order!" Veronica enthused, pushing her plate of fries towards Betty. "Sorry, we were out all afternoon and Katy was absolutely famished, so we went ahead."

"Only famished because you deemed it necessary for me to drive you all the way to Midvale to go shopping," Katy pointed out, rolling her green eyes at her friend.

Veronica's back straightened. "Can you blame me? Riverdale doesn't even have a Sephora," she replied primly.

Katy snorted into the double chocolate milkshake she was sharing with Veronica, who made a face at the action. "Seriously?" she grinned. "Wow. This town is as authentic as it gets, huh."

"We happen to quite like our _authentic_ town," Jughead cut in, his arm in the air to get the attention of one of the servers.

The new girl did that thing again where she blinked at him slowly, as if trying to figure him out. Then she tilted her head to the side, a little creepily, as a smile spread across her face. "I never said it was a bad thing, Jones. I actually think it's great that this place hasn't been touched by capitalism or big business."

"Yet," Betty added thoughtfully as one of the waiters finally made their way over to them. "I heard a Watson's is opening this year. Oh, Juggie, could you order for Arch? He should be here soon."

Jughead nodded. "Yeah, well, you can thank Mayor McCoy for that," he said, in between relaying all the orders to the server. It was a good thing that all three of them always got the same thing, week in and week out.

That done, he turned back to their conversation. "She thinks that turning all the family-run businesses in town into faceless, corporate run monstrosities is _modernizing_ , as if the last five years haven't proved that the only way to save this economic model is to rely on making more communities self-sufficient. I mean, anyone with half a brain can tell you that the only reason these corporations are paying attention to sub-5,000 population towns like us is because they think rapid expansion is the only way to make up for their loss in profi-" He cut himself off and looked up from his brief tirade to wide-eyed looks from Betty and Veronica. The Katy girl was still smiling at him weirdly – _what was up with her?_ – and he cleared his throat. "What?"

Having seemingly forgotten about Katy snorting into their drink, Veronica reached across the table for their milkshake and took a sip. "Wow, Juggie. I didn't know you felt so strongly about the economy," she teased.

Jughead rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you could crack open a newspaper once in a while, Lodge."

Katy laughed at that. "Ronniekins here avoids all major media on principle."

"Unless it's the gossip column," Betty pointed out, which got a laugh out of all of them, and even got Jughead to smile.

"Archibald Andrews, about time!" Veronica greeted as a tall, buff redhead in a blue and yellow letterman jacket approached their table.

Her boyfriend nodded at them in greeting. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Coach ran us pretty hard during practice." His gaze finally settled on the new addition to their table, and he looked confused for a second before his face broke out into a warm smile. "Hey, Katy. It's nice to meet you. In real life, I mean."

Katy's eyes darted to Veronica, who grinned and nodded at her in approval. "Hello, Archibald. Nice to see you in the flesh, finally." She slid further into the booth to allow him more space, bringing her directly across Veronica as Archie settled in right across Betty.

"Are we waiting for anyone else?" Betty asked.

"Kevin's got a date with Joaquin tonight," Archie filled in. "And I caught a ride here with-"

He was cut off by a loud groan from Jughead, who had caught sight of who, exactly, Archie had arrived with as the boy in question stepped into Pop's, shoving his car keys into his jacket pocket. "Mantle, _really_ , Arch?"

The redhead shot his best friend an apologetic look. "He's really not as bad as you think, Jug," he said quietly as Reggie Mantle finally made his way to them.

"What's up, Breakfast Club," Reggie greeted, taking the empty seat next to Archie and across Jughead. He flashed them all a wide grin, amused at his own joke.

Jughead replied with a look of disgust, while Betty merely smiled tightly. It seemed the only warm welcome the football captain would receive was from Veronica, with whom he'd bonded earlier in sophomore year over their crooked, absentee fathers.

"Hey, Morgan le Fay," he directed at Katy, who raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him, a smirk on her lips.

"The name's Katy, Jockstrap. Though I'm surprised you mustered enough brain power to make a Morgan le Fay reference."

Reggie laughed at that, his deep voice causing the cheap plastic table to vibrate. "Yeah, okay. Sabrina the Teenage Witch it is, then."

"Maybe _Jockstrap_ wasn't clear enough. I have a name, Regina. Use it, and I'll consider using yours."

Betty, bless her soul, choked on her drink at that, forcing Jughead to pat her back as a fit of coughs overtook her. Archie and Veronica were trying to hide their smiles behind their hands, while Jughead was openly chuckling, his face ducked behind Betty's shoulder.

Shockingly, Reggie didn't look offended. Quite the opposite, actually – his hazel eyes were twinkling at the other girl. "Regina, huh?"

"Mmhmm," Katy replied. "You know, Reggie except like a vagina. Take it as a compliment. Vaginas are amazing things."

Veronica finally caved and started laughing, while Archie struggled to keep his face composed as he said, "You heard her, Reg. Vaginas are amazing. Hence, you must be amazing."

"Shut up, Andrews," Reggie sniped, though without malice, as a server approached them and he finally got to place his order.

Katy turned to Veronica and Betty, hiding her flushed face in her manicured hands. "Oh my god, did I really just say _Regina_? That was _so_ bad!" And the three girls burst out laughing.

The rest of their dinner, though spent in unlikely company, had gone by surprisingly well. Veronica told stories of their adventures in the Big Apple, and they all found out that Katy hadn't been Veronica's classmate from Spence but rather her childhood friend, the two having grown up together because the bedroom windows of their penthouses had been serendipitously aligned – much like Archie and Betty's had been, although with an entire avenue between them. Katy explained that she had graduated early, having been on a fast-tracked acceleration program that allowed her to build her own curriculum and take her G.E.D. early, which had triggered the overachiever in Betty and caused her to ask a million questions.

Due to people taking bathroom breaks, the friends were shuffled around the booth, to the delight of Jughead, who ended up in his usual spot next to the window with Betty next to him and Katy right across. Reggie stayed on the outermost end of their row, while Archie and Veronica sat next to each other on Katy's side. The conversation split off after dessert, wherein Archie and Reggie found themselves talking about the upcoming game, Veronica and Betty about gossip, and, shockingly, Katy and Jughead in a discussion about politics and philosophy.

Before Betty knew it, she'd checked her phone only to find out that it was well past eleven, and if she wanted to push through with Operation Jughead, they had to get a move on.

She slipped her hand into his under the table to get his attention, but he barely glanced at her, engrossed in debating Machiavellian morality with Katy. Slightly miffed, she tugged on his hand a little. "Hey, Juggie, it's getting pretty late."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Betts. What time is it?"

"It's quarter to midnight," Veronica answered, her head resting sleepily on Archie's shoulder as his arm wrapped around her. They were the picture of contentment, and with a pang Betty realized that _that_ was exactly how she and Jughead should have looked on their first anniversary.

"You can ride with me, Cooper. I gotta drop Andrews off anyway," Reggie offered.

Betty smiled at him. "Thanks, Reg, but-"

"Yeah, Betty, come with us," Archie managed to say around the massive yawn that overtook him. Veronica smiled indulgently at him, as though he were the best thing she'd seen in her life. "It doesn't look like these two are going to quit this conversation anytime soon. Reg, could we drop Ronnie off, too?"

The taller boy shrugged. "Why not? The more the merrier," He nodded his head towards Katy, who was still engrossed in conversation with Jughead. "Is she staying with you?"

Veronica shook her head. "She's staying at the motel."

Archie's eyebrows almost went up to his hairline. "The one by the interstate?" Veronica nodded. "But isn't that place a little…shady?"

Veronica sat up slowly, a mischievous look that was classic Ronnie on her face. It was a look that none of them had seen in months due to the untimely, though unsurprising, death of her father in prison. It had been deus ex machina for the brunette – an end to the psychological torture and uncertainty brought on by the man's criminal activities. She had been trying to focus on the man who raised her's death as a way to preserve his innocence and assuage her own guilt, but it was tough going even for someone as mentally and spiritually strong as Veronica. It was over now – she could finally breathe and still miss the man her father used to be before he turned into a monster – but she still had bad days.

Archie was tempted to lean across his girlfriend and interrupt Katy and Jughead's conversation by kissing her square on the lips. He was so thankful that Ronnie's best friend was around to make her smile again. As much as they loved each other, even Archie found some days difficult. He felt Reggie nudge his knee under the table, and he looked up to find his teammate smiling warmly at Veronica, as if to say _look at her!_ Archie nudged him back. _I know._

"K!" Veronica poked the smaller girl in the arm, drawing her attention from whatever she was arguing with Jughead about.

"-the whole concept is nebulous, at best, and I highly doubt you'll find any _legitimate_ sources that will back up your claim!" she said heatedly to Jughead, who was trying to desperately to scowl at her but was unable to hide the smile on his face, most likely due to the fact that he now had someone to verbally spar with that could actually keep up. Katy turned to Veronica, her face once again falling into a mask of composure. "Yes, Ronniekins?"

"Didn't you say you were spinning tonight?"

The evening she had planned was spinning out of control, and Betty tugged on Jughead's hand while the others were distracted talking about what Betty was assuming was a new exercise trend. "Juggie," she said softly, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder. "Do you wanna get out of here? We can watch a movie at my place… or something,"

Unfortunately, half of her boyfriend's attention was still on the conversation around them. "Yeah, or something. Your mum would have my head if I was over this late," He finally dragged his eyes away from Veronica and Katy to drop a kiss on her forehead. "But hey, if you can't sleep later, send me a text and I can sneak in for a bit, okay?"

"No, Juggie, what I mean is-"

"Are you two coming or what?" Archie cut in, looking at them expectantly. Betty looked at them in confusion, having missed the entire conversation.

"Oh, please come, guys!" Veronica pleaded, hands clasped together in front of her chest. "It will be so much fun!"

Jughead glanced uncertainly at Betty as he scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know, it's getting pretty late."

"Oh, pish posh," Veronica said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The night is young and so are we! Besides, K can get us in to Complex, can you imagine?" she gushed, referring to a popular nightclub in Central that was infamously difficult to get into.

"I dunno, it doesn't seem like Cooper's scene," Reggie teased good-naturedly, smirking the tiniest bit as he side-eyed the couple.

Betty straightened her shoulders, disliking anyone determining anything about her, regardless of whether she knew what they were talking about or not. She wasn't about to prove anyone wrong, however, because the big night she had planned was down the drain and she wanted nothing more than to sleep for the next two days. She slid her hand out of Jughead's and narrowed her eyes at Reggie. "You're right, Reggie. Anywhere you are is most definitely not _my scene_. If you'll excuse me?"

Surprised at her snarky response, Reggie stood immediately to let her and Jughead out of the booth, sliding back in to take Jughead's place by the window.

Fortunately, Jughead was too busy helping Betty with her jacket to complain. "You alright, Betts? Do you want me to walk you home?"

 _Of course I want you to walk me home!_ Betty seethed internally. _I want you to walk me home and climb into my bed so I can do depraved things to you!_ Instead she said, "I'll be fine. I take it you're tagging along with them?"

Her boyfriend shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, I don't even know how to get an invitation to Complex, let alone where it is. I read on a forum once that they have a spoken word room and some of the best writers in the state hang out there."

Betty nodded, her mind already on her duvet. "Sure. Just text me, alright? I wanna know you're okay." She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and waved to Archie and Veronica. "I'm going ahead, guys."

This was met with boos from around the table. Veronica frowned at her. "Are you sure, Betts? You should unwind and come with us!"

Betty shook her head. "Homework," she offered lamely, as if any other Junior would be doing homework this late on a Friday night. But seeing as how she was Betty Cooper, her friends knew her well enough not to argue.

"Are you walking home?" Katy asked, eyes narrowing. When Betty nodded, she nudged Veronica and Archie out of the booth, pointing a finger at Reggie's face the whole time. "You are not a gentleman," she accused.

Reggie raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I offered! She's the one who didn't want a ride!"

Katy shrugged her oversized army green jacket on, looping an arm through Betty's and Jughead's and leading them to the door without a second glance. "I'm not going to let you walk home." she said matter-of-factly as they ducked out of Pop's and into the cold fall air of the parking lot. When Betty opened her mouth to argue, Katy shook her head. "No, really. You guys have taken such good care of Ron. A ride is the least I can do."

"Well, of course we're going to take good care of V," Betty replied. "We love her, too."

Katy smiled, and for the first time that night it didn't look like she was planning to bite someone. "And I love you guys for loving her as much as I do." She released their arms as they reached a vintage VW van painted teal and trimmed in white. "This is us!" she announced, motioning to the car.

Jughead raised an eyebrow. "This is it? Seriously, you aren't punking us?"

Katy shot him an incredulous look as she unlocked the side and passenger doors. "What's wrong with my car, Jones?"

"Nothing," Jughead said around a smile as he opened the back door for Betty. "It's just unexpected, that's all."

Katy made her way to the driver's side just as Veronica, Archie and Reggie stepped out of Pop's and made their way towards a matte black souped up truck that she could only assume was Reggie's. "Why? Cos you assumed I was a rich kid?"

Betty spared her boyfriend from having to answer by pointing out "Katy, why do you have a mattress back here?"

Katy laughed as she started and engine and eased them out of the parking lot. "I go camping a lot. And honestly being able to live in my car is way cheaper than staying anywhere else. You can turn on the light and look around. It's practically a mini-apartment back there," she said proudly. "Jones, directions," she said to Jughead.

"How did you manage all this?" Betty asked, turning on her phone's flashlight and looking around at the fully functional tiny home around her.

"Right," Jughead guided her, glancing back at Betty and eyeing the back of the van. "Hey, you aren't some psycho serial killer, black widow type, are you?"

Katy took her hand off the stick shift and punched him solidly in the arm before glancing at Betty in the rearview mirror. "I made it myself. My brother helped a bit. He's in uni for engineering, so this was a good project for both of us."

"Ow," Jughead complained under his breath. "Turn here, it's the fourth house on the left."

Katy pulled the van into the driveway and waited as Jughead jumped out to get the door and help Betty out. "Are you sure you're alright with me going?" Jughead asked nervously as they made the quick walk to her front door.

Betty sighed, exhausted from the day. She wasn't even tempted to try to convince him one last time. "I'm sure. I'll be up late, so just keep me updated."

He grinned brightly at her, and a small part of her felt reassured. Only _she_ could make him smile like that, and the knowledge was enough. "You're the best, Betts." He held her face in both hands and kissed her soundly. "Have a good night. I'll swing by tomorrow."

"Thanks, Katy!" Betty called as Jughead jogged back to the car. "It was nice to meet you," she added, even though she wasn't sure if she meant it. It wasn't like her to say things she didn't mean, not anymore, but she didn't know why she felt so off about the girl even though she hadn't done anything to her, not really.

Betty was safely under the covers when she realized exactly why she didn't like Katy. She was nice and smart and snarky and undeniably pretty, and if dinner was anything to go by, fit right into their little family. She also made her feel very, very threatened.


End file.
